Foreign embassies and organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have expressed support to local authorities in their efforts to tackle COVID-19 pandemic, urging all institutions in the country to make the prevention of corruption an integral part of the fight against COVID-19.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Sarajevo offices of the OSCE Mission, the Office of the High Representative, the US Embassy, the UK Embassy, the Delegation of the European Union and EU Special Representative said combatting the COVID-19 spread required swift measures but that those measures must also be “proportionate, lawful, and transparent.”

“Governments must also take measures to minimize the risks of corruption by avoiding duplicative or uncoordinated action, which can increase opportunities for waste, fraud, and abuse. Corruption has the potential to undermine efforts to combat the virus and could considerably erode public trust and confidence in the conduct of authorities in BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina( at a time when this is most needed,” said the statement.

In order to ensure that public trust is preserved, the embassies said, “all emergency response measures should be taken in a fair, accountable, verifiable and transparent manner.”

“To this end, it is critical that institutions in BiH invest significant efforts to conduct emergency public procurement procedures, in line with the applicable legislation in order to prevent any misuse of such procedures. This is particularity relevant for procurement in the health sector, but also in all other sectors adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. It is similarly vital that any potential misuse of external emergency assistance be avoided, particularly by ensuring transparency and accountability in all distribution processes,” they emphasised.

“It is crucial that institutions in BiH include a clear anti-corruption perspective when devising such measures,” said the embassies, urging all Bosnia's executive structures and their anti-corruption teams to develop plans for minimizing corruption risks and calling for the inclusion of clear anti-corruption safeguards for all public interventions both now, and in the aftermath of COVID-19.